11. You Don't Want It

Let me take you back to the mid-nineties, the heyday of New York City thug rap. Albums such as Nas' "Illmatic" and Mobb Deep's "The Infamous" are running the show for this style, and there is little question as to who can do it better. However, at some point between these artists' respected '94 and '95 releases, a certain element of hardcore hip-hop has been lost: the raw emotion that used to drive it home. Sure, some rappers will put out 13 tracks about money, drugs, guns and sex, and then throw in the song about how they're fed up with the street life to make a 'complete' album. It's just not the same though - a lot of hardcore rappers today (without mentioning any names) are displaying how real they are without showing any personality (go figure). In lyrics, consequence has been replaced by lack of common sense ... but before I go any further into ranting about how most hardcore rap sucks in 2001, I think I'll listen to this album by Cormega entitled "The Realness".

Cormega has always had a certain realness to his rhymes, so the album title fits accordingly. Some rappers assume the persona of a drug dealer, a stick-up kid, etc. Cormega is / has been these in real life, so you know there's no fronting on his part. He's also not afraid to show the down-sides of his lifestyle: the fallen soldiers, incarceration and constant drama. This is what hardcore hip-hop is all about people; this is "The Realness".

"A man is condemned or exalted by his words ... exaltment" is how "Dramatic Entrance" begins, instantly showing you that Cormega has a certain uniqueness in his style. While the rhymes are fairly standard on this track, the loop is all over the place. There is a collage of many different sounds that I can't even pinpoint, to produce probably the album's best beat. If there were harder kicks in the snare, heads worldwide would be in the hospital with broken necks. As this song fades, the relaxing tones of "American Beauty" begin. 'Mega reminisces about hip-hop on this track, comparing the days of old to its current state. He even uses the same personification as Common Sense's "I Used To Love H.E.R.", and while some purists may call this biting, I see it as building upon the original idea. "When Marley had her, her face was more pure, body fatter; Primo treated her good, made her the queen of my hood" shows his long-time love for hip-hop, and the ever-present Nas disses throughout the album make an appearance on this track with "She met a lame with a drug dealer name, he had her locked for a while but then his whole style changed". Unfortunately, the beat on this song is overshadowed by Jadakiss' new track, "Show Discipline". Compare the two instrumentals and you will understand what I mean.

Mobb Deep comes through with two clutch appearances on this album, Prodigy on "Thun And Kicko" and both members on 1999's "Killaz Theme II". Both beats are raw, and hopefully this is the type of sound the Mobb are going to stick with. "Thun And Kicko" is extremely odd, being as Prodigy disses Jay-Z and Cormega disses Nas. Although 'Mega claims that the beef does not involve him, I would not be surprised (disappointed, nonetheless) if he got caught up. "Killaz Theme II" has Havoc's best work on the boards in a long time, with a haunting loop and quiet drums that leave the charismatic emcees no choice but to intimidate all listeners. Prodigy even manages to spit a line that would quiet any possible doubters, with "Drivin' while under the influence of this / careful 'cause you might just crash and shit, total ya whip, and still pull my tape out the deck".

While there are a few tracks on this album with the standard thug-braggadocio lyrics, there are just as many heart-felt songs about his lifestyle. "They Forced My Hand" featuring the intelligent hoodlum Tragedy Khadafi is a nice piece of work where each speaks on inner-city truths over a beat layered with vocal samples and various other instruments. "Fallen Soldiers" and the remix are both fairly decent tracks, each on the topic of Cormega's lost friends. While the beat is standard and the chorus is awful on the original, the remix prevails with some very laid-back Alchemist production and extremely emotional rhymes. "R U My Nigga" asks the ever-present question of how far a friend will go for you, and Cormega also gets deep on "The Saga", commenting that "Life is a slow interlude to death". Even though I morally object to Cormega's supposed lifestyle, I know there's thousands who don't. All I hear nowadays is kids braggin' about how real they are, but guess what - this is reality.

Shots aimed at Nas Escobar perpetuate throughout this album. On "Get Out Of My Way", 'Mega states "My life wasn't written, yours was - you livin' a lie", and there is no letting up on "You Don't Want It", an entire track seemingly aimed at Esco. "Look at you, nigga you had status, most of that vanished, y'all niggas' has-been addicts, unestablished / what the fuck happened, you had the block clickin', now you in denial, y'all are finished, you opposition / but you no competition to my niggas, where heat is yo, we're not feeling you either." Hopefully Nas can retaliate better than calling him 'Corn-mega', or we all know who will win this lyrical battle.

With all of the gems on this album there are bound to be a few disappointments, and there are. The songs "Glory Days" and "Rap's A Hustle" do very little for me, and with beats so similar it was a huge mistake putting these songs back to back. While a majority of the production is hot, some beats come off as too simple for me and sometimes take away from 'Mega's poetics. He also does get a little inconsistant with the rhymes sometimes, but when he's on, he's on. This album proves to be a huge breath of fresh air for hardcore hip-hop, and I can guarantee you that most heads will feel this. Cormega is one of the last true thug poets left, and he really utilizes his ability in some spots of this album. If you can at all get down with NYC thug shit, this album will not disappoint you. And word is bond kicko.